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Blog: Possible reasons behind Bilawal Bhutto’s Kashmir mantra

Why Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto has all of sudden has said that Kashmir is part of Pakistan and he will take it back? This is great shock not only for the Indians truly have perceived that PPP had a softer version on Kashmir. This was further proved when ex- President Asif Ali Zardari was very open minded on the India-Pakistan relations as well as concerning Kashmir. What has happened all of sudden that Bilawal Bhutto has giving such a statement? I think we have to see the probabilities from within the ongoing political scene in Pakistan.

One, there is a feeling in Sindh province that India is supporting current move of Mutahida Qomi Movement (MQM) for the division of Sindh in a bid to create a province for Urdu speaking community that forms sixteen percent of Sindh population and around twenty-five percent of the Karachi metropolitan (untruth or truth, God knows alone). Urdu speaker Sindhis of Sindh have migrated to Sindh from northern India during 1947-1988. When on September 18, MQM Supremo Altaf Hussain made such a demand, Bilawal Bhutto tweeted a quote ‘Masoon marsoon, Sindh na desoon’ (we will prefer to die but will not give up Sindh). These historical words were actually said by Commander Hosh Mohammad Shidi during war between the then sovereign country of Sindh and the Great Britain. In response to his quote, Altaf Hussain uttered another term “Sindh na deso, ta poora deso” which means ‘if you will not give us half of Sindh, you will be giving-up whole of it’. Bilawal Butto’s Kashmir related statement may be an outcome of the feeling that India is behind the division of Sindh.

Two, he has given this statement in southern Punjab where Jama’t ul Dawa has tried to poison society on Kashmir sentiments. Besides, he has said this while answering to the questions asked by the Punjab residents and journalists. Unfortunately, the South Asian popular leadership has a history of political jargons for the vote-banks. It is highly popular in Indian circles that one of Indian politician during the last term elections used word ‘Usama Bin Laden Ji’ while he was among the Muslim community.

Three, there is an ongoing conflict between civilian leadership and the military establishment of Pakistan. It is well published in the newspapers around the world that the on-going sit-ins in Islamabad are a proxy pressure by the military establishment on the civilian leadership concerning Pakistan’s foreign policy. Amid this, one of the leading Indian English paper (Times of India) last month wrote an editorial and mentioned that India should negotiate with the generals, which further created a slight feel that some portions among Indian civil fraternity are also in favor of military regime in Pakistan. This probably can also be one of the reasons.

Four, the age factor of Bilawal Bhutto.

In anyways, such statements would further create an environment of distrust among the two neighbors that once were one. One cannot forget the historical reality that according to the Partition Plan of 1947, whole of the Kashmir is part of India.